Imagine yourself in a gallery filled with mirrors. On one side, the reflections are sharp and pristine, appearing from a distance as precise and immaculate. There stands Richard Estes, mastering every angle of that wall with pinpoint accuracy. But what would happen if those mirrors shattered?
On the other side of the gallery, Malcolm Morley has already shattered those mirrors and presents you with a constellation of fragments demanding to be mentally reconfigured. Welcome to a tour through two artistic universes that couldn’t be more divergent, yet both operate under the title of “realism.”
Estes: realism as reflection
Richard Estes is like a photographer armed with brushes. His urban landscapes resemble photographs. They are a portrait of the world that confuses technique with truth. Although his work is fascinating, his brush technique, an impactful impressionism, leans more toward a reverence for illustration than an exploration into art and meaning.